Laurence Stephen Lowry RA
Artist Bio
L. S. Lowry (1887-1976) was an English artist, well known for his drawings and paintings of life in the industrial districts of North West England. He is recognised for having a distinctive style in depicting human figures, often referred to as “matchstick men.” He studied under French impressionist Pierre Adolphe Valette at the Manchester School of Art and then at The Royal Technical Institute in Salford (now the University of Salford).
A quiet and shy man, Lowry was always eager to please but felt he had disappointed his mother. He developed a friendship with a young girl named Carol Ann Lowry (no relation) after she wrote to him asking for his advice on becoming an artist, on his death he bequeathed his fortune and many of his art works to her.
Lowry was elected a member of the Royal Academy (1962), was an official war artist (1943), rejected a number of honours during his life including a knighthood and has had a gallery named in his honour, The Lowry on Salford Quays. The artist’s paintings enjoy a great deal of success, with several being bought for six-figure sums by renowned galleries.